I haven't seen anything about this in the American press, but the BBC reports that starting next year the Department of Homeland Security will require all visitors entering the USA from Japan and Western Europe -- visitors who do not require visas -- to register with them online three days before their visit.
I haven't thought about it long enough to decide if it's a good idea or not. On the one hand, we seem to keep making it harder and harder for people to visit the USA. On the other hand, this doesn't seem like an excruciating burden.
But the fact that it's coming from Michael Chertoff's Department of Homeland Security almost makes it stupid by default. And it does not gain gravitas from the questions that will be asked of visitors:
That information includes passport number, country of residence, and any involvement in terror activities.
It reminds me of the manifest record that was created for my grandmother, and the 3-year-old who would become my mother, when they sailed from France to Ellis Island in 1920:
The answers to questions 22 and 23 were "No," by the way. I've never seen a report of how many anarchists and polygamists were caught in this cunning sting.
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